The New Publishing Paradigm?

As e-book sales continue to rise and print sales continue their gradual slide, I suspect there are a lot of publishing executives out there driving up sales of antacids. Many observers and critics of the industry have been saying the traditional publishing model is broken and needs to change. But how? Little, Brown may have hit upon a solution that will become more commonplace. Instead of bringing out hardcover, paperback and digital versions of a title in a staggered release schedule, Little Brown did something diferent for What It Was, the latest novel by George Pelecanos.

It's paying off, according to an article in USA Today. How? The publisher is releasing the novel in three different verions at the same time: as a $9.99 trade paperback; a limited-edition, signed and slip-cased $35 hardcover; and as an e-book. The initial 99-cent e-book price will rise to $4.99 on Feb. 27, but even that $4.99 is significantly below what other e-book versions of their hardcover brethren have cost.

Instead of What it Was, perhaps a better title for the Pelecanos book, at least from a publishing standpoint, should read What it Will Be.